Top 10: World War II Video Games

VO: Dan
There have been countless games designed to transport gamers from their living rooms to the terrifying trenches of the second World War. They have emerged as shooters, strategy games and flight sims. While some have paid honourable tribute to those struggles, others have thrilled us with their own takes on history. Join WatchMojo.com as we count down our Top 10 favourite World War II video games.

No matter what kind of gamer you are, chances are good that you enjoy killing Nazis. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 World War II Video Games.

Number 10: Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998)

Starting off our list is the real time strategy game that had you control six Allied Commandos using small unit tactics. Each team-member had a specific skill set and tools to complete the missions. This game is unique for defying expectations, its astounding attention to detail, and its demand that we think, and not just go in guns blazing.

Number 9: Day of Defeat

During the time when Counter-Strike reigned supreme in the online mod world, your mod had to be pretty darn good to succeed. Enter Day of Defeat. A game ahead of its time, Day of Defeat brought the hyper accurate gunplay of the half-life engine to theatres of World War II and didn’t skimp on the features. The ability to deploy machine gun bipods or throw live grenades back at your enemies are rarely even seen in modern shooters today.

Number 8: Sniper Elite (2005)

This third-person stealth shooter had players prevent the Soviet Union from learning Germany’s nuclear secrets at the end of the war. Players had to make use of camouflage, tripwire traps and realistic ballistics systems in order to succeed. Another game ahead of its time, it introduced players to bullet drop, wind variance and even breath control.

Number 7: Company of Heroes (2006)

Another strategy game, this game is credited with pushing the strategy genre forward, and stands on its own as a formidable achievement in the realm of gaming in general. It was visceral, intense, and beautiful to look at, none of which are adjectives commonly associated with the strategy genre. And would you believe it, explosion craters make for great infantry cover. That’s just cool.

Number 6: Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (2005)

Bucking the trend of fast paced run and gun action, this game was all about realistic team strategy and tactics. It tells the story of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, who were sent behind enemy lines on D-Day. Other games had you command troops, this game had you lead them. Not only making the shots but calling them too made for a game that had incredible emotional depth.

Number 5: Il-2 Sturmovik (2001)

Named after the Soviet ground attack fighter, this is one of the greatest World War II flight simulators ever created. Its near perfect scores are the result of passion, polish and total immersion. Despite its age, it remains a hyper realistic game that puts you in the cockpit of actual planes from the global conflict.

Number 4: Battlefield 1942 (2002)

Revolutionizing multiplayer gaming, 1942 had us work as a team with strangers in order to fight over spawn points, all while piloting iconic war machines. Less about plot and realism, and more about surviving gunfire, World War II served as the inital backdrop for the sheer chaos the series is now known for. Sure, it wasn’t a serious representation of war, but easily one of the most fun and memorable.

Number 3: Wolfenstein 3D (1992)

Mega credit goes to ID software for fathering not only the World War II game genre as we know it, but first person shooters as well. At the time, this game was so graphic and violent that the only way it could get released at all was to justify the violence by having you kill Nazis. How many other games turned WWII into a fantasy horror tale, complete with mazes and a giant Hitler strapped with dual machine guns? None, that’s how many.

Number 2: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (2002)

How many of us saw the beach landing scene in Saving Private Ryan and said “Hey, I wanna do that”. Maybe not a lot of you, but that still didn’t detract from Allied Assault’s popularity, due in no small part to the heavy amount of inspiration it drew from Spielberg’s epic.

Number 1: Call of Duty (2003)

Taking the top honor on our countdown is the game that featured the best squad action to ever emerge from the trenches. Made by many of the same designers that worked on Allied Assault, this game improves upon that experience with brilliantly orchestrated scripting that gave it a cinematic flair that had never been seen in a game before. Your squad mates may have been useless in the combat sense, but man did they ever look cool helping each other through windows.